Between You And God #30

Dear God, How does the Holy Spirit help us?

Christians understand God to be three-in-one: the Trinity. There is God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit. They are each the same, and yet also different. One way we can understand a little of this mystery is to begin to know them by their names. We know about fathers, which helps us understand God the Father. But what about God the Holy Spirit?

Imagine that you are in a classroom and, after you finish a test, you turn around in your seat to talk with a friend. The teacher calls you forward. She says you were cheating and must be sent home from school. You panic. You weren’t cheating. And hadn’t you been told that you could speak after finishing? Now you can’t remember. You can bring one person with you to the principal’s office to help share your side of the story.

You could bring the friend you were whispering with, but then you see that the assistant principal has been standing in the back of the room. He offers to go with you. He says he knows you were not cheating and, in fact, heard what you said. He also remembers that a rule was given earlier that okayed talking after tests.

Who would you bring to defend you, to help you, to be your advocate? The assistant principal, of course!

Jesus said that the Father sent the Holy Spirit to Christians for many reasons. One of them is to defend you, to help you, to remind you, and to speak up on your behalf. He’s way more powerful than any assistant principal. And he’s with you 24-7. That’s one of the loveliest ways we know for sure that God loves us. He’ll never leave you to stand on your own.

How about You?

When have you felt like no one was on your side? How can you remind yourself, next time, that someone is?

God Says . . .

I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit. John 14:16-17